Family Files Suit Against Attorney Reaping Millions From Will

When Robert Mardigian wanted to put his financial affairs in order, he turned to his longtime friend and attorney, Mark Papazian.  Mr. Papazian subsequently drafted a will and trust that left the bulk of Mardigian’s fortune to Papazian and his two children. 

Yet, because Mardigian was unrelated to Papazian, the will was improper under the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct, making clear that attorneys “shall not” prepare a will for a non-related client that includes a substantial gift for the attorney.

Now, Mardigian’s survivors are seeking that the gifts to Papazian and his children be disallowed.  A county judge ruled in their favor, and the case is now before the Michigan Court of Appeals.  “For over 100 years, the Supreme Court has ‘bluntly warned’ lawyers not to receive gifts from clients under wills they themselves have drafted.  Mark Papazian did it anyway . . . in flagrant disregard of his ethical duties as a member of the bar,” Gerald Gleeson, an attorney for Mardigian’s brother stated in a court filing. 

See Paul Egan, Family Fights Attorney Getting Millions From Client’s Will, Detroit Free Press, Apr. 11, 2015.

Special thanks to Jim Hartnett (Hartnett Law Firm) for bringing this article to my attention.